There was a girl at a café. Her hair an unruly mop; her mom would complain, “Too short!” How will you attract boys? is what her mom meant. The girl didn’t care. She was content to sit in the café and sip her coffee, watching other girls talking to their silly boys. Coffee is better than boys, she decided.
There was a boy at a café. He was there to meet a client. One business meeting after the next. Some days he worked so hard and long the days turned into nights. Some nights the boy felt like an old man instead. But he was busy and that was good, wasn’t it? Being busy is better than being lonely, he decided.
There is a girl at a café. She is no longer sitting on a stool staring out of the window. The girl is behind the bar now, making coffee for others to enjoy. Slowly, gently, by hand. The long, careful drip of black coffee is a meditation. Making coffee is better than watching other girls talking to boys, she decides.
A boy walks into the café. He talks to the girl making his coffee. She serves him a simple cup of good coffee. He sips and smiles at her. They talk some more. She makes more coffee for him and he drinks more cups. Coffee, he decides, is better than being busy and being lonely.
A girl and a boy hold hands in a café. They talk to photographers and they call florists. Soon it will be their wedding day. Spending their life together, drinking coffee, and being very happy, they decide, is better than just about anything. (And how right they are.)
Drink coffee. Talk to strangers in cafés. Fall in love. And be happy always.